


Finding Oneself

by JaquiK



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: F/F, F/M, Genderfluid Saotome Ranma, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29627430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaquiK/pseuds/JaquiK
Summary: After the wedding disaster, Ranma is finally given a chance to sort through his life and he decides to start with the girl that's closest to him, who just so happens to also be the girl he resents the most.
Relationships: Saotome Ranma/Tendou Akane
Comments: 11
Kudos: 41





	1. His Greatest Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to give a thanks to Chumpersonable for proofreading this story.

It was a quiet, uneventful Saturday evening for one Ranma Saotome, something that should have been considered statistically impossible. For as long as he could remember, chaos would follow him around like a shadow, but ever since he first arrived in Nerima it seemed every day has turned into an absurd series of events. If it wasn’t a random demon, prince, or magical item that needed handling, it was having to deal with the people in his life that either wanted him dead or just plain wanted him, sometimes both.

Today was different though. For the first time as far back as he can remember, the young martial artist had a day of complete solitude. So here, as he lay back on the roof of the Tendo house, he was finally given the opportunity to perform perhaps the most dangerous thing he has ever done: thinking about his life. Specifically the events that brought him to this day.

With everything going on around him, it was a bit surprising that a breaking point wasn’t reached much sooner. Quite frankly, Jusendo was where at least some closure should have been reached. Heck, he fought a fiery demi-god to the death and ended up the victor. All to save the life of one Akane Tendo, the girl he truly lo...cared for. Now if only he could remember exactly what he said to her at that time.

After all of that, maybe he and Akane would finally be given the chance to move a bit forward with whatever it was that existed between the two of them. Of course, that would require actual patience and restraint on the part of their fathers, so the results were inevitable. As soon as they got home, Ranma was knocked out and stuffed into a tuxedo for an immediate wedding. Now, he was willing to go through with it and he had suspicions that Akane did as well. However, this being Nerima, there was no way things would go according to plan. Or perhaps they did, depending on whose plan it was. Nabiki sure enjoyed the wedding presents that came in from all the extra invitations she sent out, although whether they managed to add up to the damage costs for the wrecked dojo was yet to be seen.

Oddly enough, perhaps because of said destruction of the Tendo dojo, the person that finally decided to put their foot down was one of the fathers that started the whole fiasco: Soun Tendo. The conditions were quite clear: untangle the absurd and twisted knot that was Ranma Saotome’s romantic commitments. The method to do so was about as clear as a 10-meter-thick steel wall and definitely much harder to get though considering the people involved.

Fortunately, the consequences of the wedding disaster had at least been recognized by the other fiancées, for the most part. Ukyo was smart enough to realize how much she screwed up and decided a visit to her hometown of Kyoto with Konatsu would be the smart decision, lest she risk fully destroying any connection that remained with her first friend and hopeful future husband.

Shampoo was a bit too stubborn to get the message, but luckily Cologne was quick to recognize that any attempts to push or manipulate Ranma would at this point effectively end any and all plans to get him into the Amazon tribe. No, space was instead needed to cool things down. Fortunately, an excuse was already provided. With the events of Jusendo and the Phoenix tribe, Cologne would be needed back at Joketsuzoku to help the counsel sort things out and had already set out to China with Shampoo and Mousse in tow.

Ryoga was feeling quite depressed after missing his opportunity with the Naniichuan water and decided to intentionally make himself lost for a while. He immediately ended up at the Unryuu farm and Akari has been keeping him on a tight leash ever since. Ranma was still unsure if she meant that metaphorically.

Happosai, after getting over the insult of being at a wedding and not getting any sake to drink, also decided a trip was in order. Per his own words, South America sounded nice, especially the beaches of Brazil with all the lovely ladies running around.

The Kunos ended up taking their own vacation. The Principal somehow got it in his palm tree topped head that the only way for his children to appreciate the glory of Hawaii as he did was to experience it firsthand. As such, the Kuno siblings now found themselves, somewhat reluctantly, on a month tour of every island in Hawaii.

Even the panda was currently out of Ranma’s hair. With the Saotome house finally finished being rebuilt (again), his mother knew it was time to go home. Considering what happened the last time though, she decided it would be best for her son to stay with the Tendos for at least a bit longer. His Pop, however, got no such exception and was practically dragged home at katana point. At least she remembered to bring him this time.

All this brought the pig-tailed youth back to where he currently was: on a rooftop with no one bothering him all day. Even the Tendos made fit to leave him alone. Soun was out visiting Ranma’s parents, probably playing shogi with the panda with the added game of who could get away with cheating the most. Kasumi was busy preparing dinner and Nabiki was off doing who knows what while Akane was busy in her room completing make-up work that he hadn’t even bothered looking at yet.

No, homework could wait. There was a much more difficult problem that has been plaguing him for more than a year now and finally required an answer: The Fiancée Problem. Also Kodachi, whom he would never consider as an actual fiancée.

Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi.

After everything he’s been through and everyone he has interacted with, it’s these 4 girls that have remained a constant in his life and his task at the moment was figuring out which of the 4 girls to address first.

Math was never Ranma’s strongest subject, and as the skies of Nerima dropped one of their famous 1-minute rain showers on him, he was quickly corrected.

It wasn’t 4 girls that were constant in his life.

It was 5.

As the rainwater shifted a black-haired boy into a short redheaded girl, Ranma finally had the answer of whom he needed to take care of first. After all, it was the girl he was the closest to and the girl who was most involved in his life.

It was also the girl he wanted to get rid of most of all.

_Stupid girl curse. If it wasn’t for that, the wedding probably would have worked. Mr. Tendo wouldn’t have gotten the Naniichuan water and Mousse and Pops could have run interference instead of fighting over that damn cure._

One more complaint had been added to the ever-growing list of grievances Ranma managed to accumulate concerning his current state. As was done many times before in the past, he went through this list in his head.

_Because of this curse, I have to deal with stupid Kuno and his stupid declarations of love._

_Because of this curse, I got involved in that stupid martial arts rhythmic gymnastics thing and ended up with Kodachi after me._

_Because of this curse, that old freak keeps trying to grope me and trying to make me wear that frilly crap._

The redhead was absolutely fuming with fists clenched at his side.

_Because of this stupid curse, Shampoo chased me all the way across China trying to kill me._

_Because of this damn curse, that jerk Taro has the nerve to call me an okama._

_Because of this crappy curse, Akane calls me a pervert all the time._

_Because of this damn stupid crappy curse, I...I couldn’t meet my mother as myself for so long._

Tears started to form in the martial artist’s tightly shut eyes.

Normally at this point, someone would have shown up and interrupted the current train of thought. For once though, Ranma’s internal rant was allowed to continue unabated.

_Because of this curse, that jerk Mikado ended up...ended up..._

Blood started to seep from the girl-cursed boy’s palms and a red aura started to appear.

_Because of this curse, I had to risk possibly getting married to that horrible Picolet guy and...and…_

The serene, uneventful Saturday evening had finally caught up to Ranma as for the first time, he was able to reach the end of his rant and was left with only one place to go: realization.

_And if I didn’t do that, one of the Tendo girls would have been forced to marry him._

The aura surrounding the cursed martial artist dissipated and his eyes shot open. He quickly sat up and unclenched his fists as the implications started to wash over him. Apparently, this whole thinking thing was much more dangerous than he first suspected. Well, there was no way he was going to stop now. After all, Ranma Saotome was no quitter and Anything Goes was about adapting, right?

This whole time, he was only looking at the bad things that happened because of his being cursed to turn into a girl and just assumed everything would be much better if that wasn’t the case. Ranma couldn’t help but smirk at his own stubbornness and refusal to see beyond his initial assumptions. That was supposed to be Ryoga’s job, not his.

At this point, he noticed the gashes and blood in his palms and decided he might as well take care of it while continuing this new train of thought. The crimson haired martial artist leapt down from the roof and headed back inside the house and into the bathroom.

As he let the cold water run in the sink and started to clean up, he allowed this new point of view run in his head. Now, it was time to actually think about what would have happened if he didn’t have his curse.

_It took everything I had to defeat that stupid Picolet in that eating contest. I even had to use my curse as training to get that Parley du Foie Gras technique down. There’s no way any of the Tendo girls could have won against him. Akane, Kasumi, heck not even Nabiki deserves to be stuck with that frog mouthed weirdo._

_Kuno would definitely still be after me no matter what, except it would alway be to fight me. Oh heck, if the “pigtailed goddess” wasn’t around to distract him, he’d probably be even more insufferable._

_Kodachi. Oh right, those girls were asking Akane for help and would have gone to her even if I didn’t interfere there. We would have had to compete against her. I still would have met her as a guy anyway and that stupid bet would have also happened. Akane probably would have still twisted her ankle...oh crap, Kodachi would have won._

Suppressing a shudder at the thought of having to date that crazed gymnast, Ranma turned off the water, but didn’t move from his spot. He continued to stare down at the sink letting his thoughts continue and did not dare look up at the person whose many crimes he only now decided to truly examine.

_Taro. Let’s face it, Taro’s an asshole no matter what. If it weren’t a gender changing curse, he would have just found some other stupid thing to insult me with. Besides, I was still able to kick his ass._

_What would have happened if I went to the Amazon village as a guy? I probably would have just gotten that kiss of marriage right away. Would I have even been able to escape? Would I be stuck in that village in a marriage I don’t want and being treated the same way Mousse is?_

_For that old freak, this body does a pretty good job of keeping the pervert in check. If I didn’t have it, would I have been able to use the Hiryuu Shoten Ha to beat him and get my strength back? If it wasn’t for the curse, would I be as weak as a baby for the rest of my life?_

Ranma let out a deep sigh as his hands started to grip the sink.

_Mikado...dammit! I hate what he did to me, but if it wasn’t me it would have been some other poor girl. Maybe even Akane!_

The thought of that creep trying to steal a kiss caused a wave of revulsion to shoot up his currently female body. Desperately, he tried to direct his thoughts towards anything else, but only managed to settle upon a different perverted boy, albeit one with rather different circumstances.

_Oh crap, that boy from the hospital that wouldn’t take his medicine! What was his name again? Kensuke? Whatever. Shoot, I didn’t actually give him the meds, but would they have gotten that far if I wasn’t there? If that girl wasn’t there?_

Finally, Ranma looked up into the deep blue eyes of a girl that was staring back at him with the exact same level of intensity.

The girl that saved the life of a sick boy.

The girl that rescued a hot springs owner from financial ruin.

The girl that helped his best friend Uuchan out with her business.

The girl that took down Kodachi at her own game.

The girl that saved the Tendo girls from that French jerk.

The girl that defeated the cheerleader who made Akane cry.

Ranma stared back at those eyes. The eyes of a girl that really belonged to…

_NO! NO! NO!_

He quickly slammed his eyes shut and shook his head desperately trying to dispel the thoughts that he couldn’t have. That he never would be allowed to have.

_I’M A GUY DAMMIT! I’M SUPPOSED TO BE A GUY! I LIKE BEING A GUY! I DON’T LIKE...I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO LIKE BEING A GIRL! EVEN IF...even if.._

_Even if that girl helped out so many. Even if she helped her. Even if she was that one that was asked to be her friend._

Ranma’s eyes slowly opened again to look back at the girl, whose own eyes were now saturated with tears that quickly trickled down her cheeks. Although it was a bit hard to see with the pigtailed youth’s vision clouding up for some reason.

Nevertheless, a quick response was needed. Ranma was never able to deal with a crying girl, even if that girl really was…

A hand went up and reached out. A hand that was so small and delicate and yet still so powerful. A hand that met another just as small and just as delicate and just as powerful. Finally, the silence was pierced through by a voice, soft and low, almost a whisper. A voice saying barely anything and yet speaking everything all at once.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I tried to kill you.”

Silence once again permeated the room and dragged on for the eternity that was a few minutes as neither side seemed to know how to respond. Thankfully, no one had to as a welcome distraction called out from the dining room.

“Ranma! Akane! Dinner is ready!”

Ranma let out a breath that was held in for so long and called back. “Okay Kasumi, I’ll be right there!” _Should probably clean myself up first._

Looking down at the sink, a hand automatically reached out for the handle on the left before pausing and moving over to the one on the right. Cold water was quickly splashed in the teenager’s face and eyes went up once more to see the redheaded girl.

To see the reflection.

To see _her_ reflection.

A small smirk appeared on Ranma’s lips as she once again addressed herself in the mirror.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’m not actually going to get rid of _him_ either. And I’m still a little upset about what happened with Mom. It’s just that I’ve neglected you way too much and I would be a real jerk if I didn’t try and make up for it. Besides, we know you can do things that he can't, so maybe one of those things could be figuring out how to handle the other girls. I’m sure we can come up with something. After all, Ranma Saotome doesn’t lose!”

The red-haired girl let out a small laugh and left the bathroom, for once feeling optimistic and ready to meet this new challenge head on.

5 girls. 5 girls who, through various circumstances, have become entangled in Ranma Saotome’s life. 5 girls whose situations needed to be somehow addressed without anyone being destroyed. For the longest time, this task seemed insurmountable. Now, a solution finally looked to be in her reach. After all, she just successfully confronted the one girl that was perhaps the most challenging. The girl she hated the most. The girl she feared the most. The girl she was finally able to make peace with.

Herself.


	2. Her Lost Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akane Tendo is stuck with her own thoughts wondering where her life has gone while lamenting the loss of a girl that was never really there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to Chumpersonable for proofreading as well as help with a difficult line

A day of calm and peace was something not quite as unusual for one Akane Tendo. An advantage of the chaos that surrounded Ranma Saotome was that it also tended to follow him whenever he went somewhere else. Of course that also meant trying to be close to the pigtailed martial artist required getting involved in the madness.

Sitting at her desk, she let out a sigh, combing her hand through her dark black, almost blue, hair and looked down at homework barely touched. One would think the quiet would help with her studies, but all she could do right now was let her mind wander through the events of the past week.

Sometimes, being close meant the madness would find her even if she was a country away. Such as a flock of bird-people kidnapping her to China and drowning her in a spring, all so this one woman could impersonate her completely. After that, there was having the moisture evaporated from her body and being turned into a tiny doll, although that one was mostly on her for interfering. Not that there was any way she wouldn’t have gotten involved. After all, she’s a martial artist too.

Even as an immobile doll, she was still able to see and hear everything that was going on. The angry prince that blocked access to the waters that would restore her to normal. The life that was slowly draining out of her. The fear in her fiancé’s eyes as he did everything possible to succeed against a seemingly unvanquishable foe. The desperation as he blasted the fountains of Jusendo, saving her while at the same time destroying yet another chance at a cure for himself. The words he spoke to her after thinking he was too late. 

Those words should have been enough. After all that happened, Ranma still wasn’t able to say it outright, but everything else said made it obvious. She should have accepted those words and left it alone. Then came the wedding and she just couldn’t. Akane was ready to go through with the whole thing and she hoped he was too. She wanted him to. She needed him to. She had to hear him say it and wouldn’t accept anything else. That was when she made a mistake.

If she just kept the information about the Nannichuan water to herself, then maybe Ranma wouldn’t have run straight into the chaos. Maybe they could have both stayed out of the way of the storm and come out the other side as husband and wife. Instead she hoped mentioning the cure would make him grateful enough to actually admit his true feelings. And once again, everything was ruined and Ranma was still cursed. 

The young martial artist let out a scoff at the thought. Yeah right, some curse. What’s wrong with being a girl anyway? It’s not like he turns in a panda, or a duck, or a cat. That last one would probably destroy him. No, instead her financé becomes a super cute redhead with a bust bigger than her own, a fact he’s sure not to let her forget along with all the things he’s so much better than her at. 

Despite all of his complaining, he sure has no problem taking advantage of his cursed form, whether it’s to charm free food from vendors or putting on some disguise to pick on Ryoga. With the way he constantly teased the poor boy, one would think they were actually brother and sister.

She didn’t even dare contemplate what else that pervert was doing with that body. She certainly heard the whispers from the boys at school about what they would do if they had the curse for even a day. It was disgusting! He wasn’t even a real girl! Not real...

Akane closed her eyes and tried to shake the thoughts from her head. She needed to get her mind away from Ranma. No matter what, everything seemed to connect to the cursed martial artist. That wasn’t always the case though. 

Chaos certainly followed the boy to town, but it wasn’t as though none existed before. For as long as she could remember, she had one primary dream: to inherit her family’s dojo and be the best martial artist in Nerima. Things started out well enough with her father training her along with her two older sisters. Then, tragedy came with the sudden passing of her mother and everything fell apart. Her father cancelled all classes and refused to train anyone, even his own family. The oldest daughter Kasumi was forced to become a housekeeper and family cook at the age of 9. Nabiki, once the most outgoing of the three, retreated into herself, determined to do whatever necessary to keep the family afloat and avoid financial ruin. 

All this left Akane with no one to help her with training. She was stuck alone, isolated, having to figure everything out on her own. It was certainly a hard road and she felt more often than not that she was just tripping over her own feet. If there was one thing about Akane Tendo though, it was that she was far too stubborn to let this stop her. Eventually, determination and perseverance paid off and she went through middle school making quite the name for herself and drawing attention of many. That was where the trouble truly started as one of the people that made notice of her skills was a first year student of Furinkan High School student by the name of Tatewaki Kuno.

It would be the greatest of understatements to refer to the boy as delusional. Already a master kendoist, he fancied himself on the level of the grand samurai of old, even foregoing the regular school uniform for the traditional samurai hakama. He spent most of his time spouting poetry while demonstrating no talent for such and proclaiming his love towards any “fair maiden” he showed fancy, refusing or perhaps incapable of accepting any rejection of such affection.

Kuno was rapid in his pursuit of the third year middle school student. Akane, in her arrogance, decided the best way to rid herself of this pest was a formal martial arts duel. After all, what boy would be interested in a girl that could kick his ass? 

Akane did indeed defeat Kuno rather soundly, only to find out just how big of a mistake she made. Instead of being deterred by his defeat, the samurai wannabe was somehow able to reach even greater heights of motivation, doubling the number of romantic declarations towards his “fierce tigress”, most of which ended with a punt into the next district. At this point, Akane was wondering how things could get any worse. 

The answer came at the start of her first year at Furinkan High. She would have loved nothing more than to avoid being in the same school as that idiot. However, her sister Nabiki was also attending and the eldest, Kasumi, just graduated from there, so she was expected to follow along in their footsteps. 

Things fell apart during the opening ceremonies, which was immediately hijacked by Kuno. Being the star kendo player as well as, unbeknownst to Akane at the time, the son of the currently missing principal, he was given quite a bit of leeway from the staff and officials. Once he was done giving his declaration, Akane wished someone could have built up the nerve to just tackle him off the stage right away.

“My greetings to the illustrious student body. I, Tatewaki Kuno age 17, The Shooting Star of Furinkan High, have only this to declare. Anyone who wishes to date Akane Tendo must first prove themselves by defeating her in combat. Thank you.”

As the kendoist walked off the stage among the loud murmuring of the crowd, Akane could only wonder how many challenge letters will show up in her locker. It turned out the answer was none as most of the students of Furinkan were unfamiliar with formal challenges and preferred the direct approach instead. 

The result was a new morning routine for the young martial artist: fighting off a horde of perverted boys determined to take her down. At first, it was only a few students who dared to attack, but day after day with each beatdown given, the numbers kept growing eventually resulting in every male athlete along with several non-athletes going after her. 

Akane was absolutely under no delusions about the situation. In no way was this about the privilege of asking her for a date. No, these boys firmly believed that the eventual winner would immediately get her as though she was a prize, probably expecting her to immediately jump into his arms and declare her undying love. Looking back on it now, she wondered if they were all descended from some long lost Amazon tribe.

After more than a month of these daily “challenges”, a couple of things became clear.

  1. Akane became very good at crowd brawling
  2. She’d never be able to enjoy a Jackie Chan movie ever again



All of this was really taking its toll on the poor girl. Worst of all was the fact that there was no one she felt she could really turn to. Sure, there was the family doctor she harbored a secret crush on, but she had no idea how to approach him. 

Her family was no help. Her father was still grieving over the loss of his wife, Kasumi was too busy taking care of the house, and Nabiki was busy herself taking bets on the fights, her only words of encouragement being “keep it up and we’ll have the mortgage to the house paid off by the end of the year”.

Despite all the fighting, she was still somewhat popular with the female students. However, even with all her supporters, as well as a couple of girls she tended to hang out with quite a bit, she didn’t really have anyone she would consider a best friend. Someone that she could really connect with and be close to.

About a month and a half into the school year, things changed once again. It all started with a postcard her father received from an old friend named Genma Saotome. Apparently he was coming from China along with his son Ranma. Akane was already in a bad mood upon being given this news. All the time spent dealing with the perverts at school and now she was going to have one invade her own home. Then came the news that caused her dreams to lay shattered on the floor. This boy, this interloper, was to marry one of them and inherit the dojo. Her dojo. The dojo she worked so hard to earn, being handed over to some complete stranger that not even her father has met.

Akane was still fuming when the invader finally made his presence known in a way no one expected: being carried over the shoulder of a giant panda of all things. Things were turned on their heads once again thanks to a tight hug by the Tendo patriarch followed by quick inspection from Nabiki revealing that the short red-haired boy was in actuality a girl.

Everyone had a different reaction to the news. Her dad fainted and ended up catatonic on the floor, lamenting how his plans to destroy her dreams went up in smoke. Kasumi was being Kasumi, providing the exact amount of hospitality required for a guest. Nabiki just continued to poke at the poor girl’s breasts, as if needing continuous confirmation that the person who showed up at their door was indeed a girl.

As for Ranma herself, underneath the growing irritation showing on her face there was a look of loneliness and isolation. She recognized it immediately as those sad eyes were the same ones she saw everyday in her own reflection. The Tendo heir knew exactly what it was that needed to be done.

“Hi, my name is Akane. Would you like to be friends?”

The small smile and quick nod was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

Things kept getting better as she took her new friend to the dojo for a little sparring session. It became quickly clear that her friend practiced kempo more than just a little as her friend effortlessly dodged and weaved at every strike she threw. Eventually, the impromptu fight ended with her fist through the dojo wall and a light poke to the back of her head. 

As Akane turned around, the smile on her friend’s face became full-on joyous laughter that she was quick to join in on. The sadness and loneliness were now gone from her friend’s eyes and she hoped the same would be true for the eyes in the mirror.

The dark-haired girl left the dojo with, for the first time in so long, a sense of optimism. She finally had a friend she could truly confide in. 

A friend that also practiced martial arts. 

A friend she could have actual spars with. 

A friend that could help her with the madness that was her life. 

A friend she could team up with to battle the loneliness together.

A friend that didn’t actually exist. It all turned out to be a complete and utter lie. 

Just a little hot water was able to dissolve away the deception and reveal the ugly truth underneath. Revealed the boy, the pervert, just like all the other boys. Except it was much worse because this boy managed to achieve victory without having to land a single punch. Akane Tendo The Prize was finally handed over on a silver platter, by her very sisters no less, along with the dojo she worked so hard for. 

It wasn’t fair! This shouldn’t be happening! There was no way she was going to marry the pervert! No way she was going to -

“Ranma! Akane! Dinner is ready!”

Akane’s mind snapped back to the present. She looked down at the pile of broken lumber that was recently her desk and let out a long sigh. Once again her anger managed to get the best of her. Just a few minutes ago, she was thinking about how determined she was to marry the idiot. Now she was back to declaring it was never going to happen. She was stuck. Caught in a spiral. Her own version of the Hiryu Shoten Ha. Forever trapped. After everything that happened and everything she had gone through, nothing had changed. And she was tired.

As the girl of 17 who suddenly felt much, much older slowly got up and started to head downstairs, she could only think about just how tired she was.

Tired of the chaos.

Tired of not being able to move forward.

Tired of not knowing whether she wanted her fiancé to leave forever or to never leave her side.

Tired of feeling both totally isolated and completely suffocated.

Tired of missing a girl that was never really there.

Yes, at the end of the day, after everything that has happened, what she truly wanted was to just have her friend back.


	3. Making Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner finds two girls stuck with their own issues and Ranma comes up with a "brilliant" idea of how to help out the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks once again to Chumpersonable for helping with proofreading.

Akane slowly made it down the steps and towards the dining room, grateful for the small miracle that at least it will be mostly empty tonight. Her father was spending the whole weekend with the Saotomes. Nabiki apparently had some business going on and wouldn’t be back until later in the week. Happosai was still off terrorizing the women of Brazil. All she had to do now was deal with... 

“Hey Akane,” came the sound of a blur as her currently redheaded fiancé zipped past her towards his spot at the dining table. She was about to give a reply, but stopped. Something was off here that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Sure, he was a girl at the moment, but that shouldn’t be unusual. After all, water managed to find him wherever he went and the number of freak rainstorms that have hit Nerima continued to baffle the local meteorologists. 

Still, something wasn’t quite right, Akane turned her head in confusion towards the bathroom that Ranma just dashed out of. As she sat at her own place at the table and looked back at her fiancé who was quickly wolfing down his meal, it finally hit her.  _ He didn’t change back _ . The bathroom would have whatever hot water he needed, but he didn’t turn back into a boy. He stayed a girl.  _ Why is he still a girl? What is he up to? _

_ No, don’t jump to any conclusions yet. That’s what got you into trouble at the wedding. There might be a simple reason for this. Maybe the hot water is out in the bathroom. It’s happened before. Or maybe he was in such a rush to eat he forgot to change back. Food usually is his number one priority after all. How do I bring it up though? If I just go and ask “why are you a girl?” he’ll probably just avoid the question and insult me like he usually does. _

Luckily, Kasumi proved to be the eternal diplomat for these situations as she politely asked, “Ranma, would you like some hot water?”

Akane watched as her currently female fiancé momentarily froze, the chopsticks halfway to his mouth, something in his eyes she couldn’t quite put a name to. Ranma quickly looked up with a big smile that was much larger than the situation required and replied back. “No thanks, Kasumi. I’m fine. I don’t wanna bother you or nothing.”

Kasumi returned a smile almost as large and replied back. “Oh it’s no bother Ranma. I’m sure you want to turn back to a guy again after all.”

Once again, that look flashed in the redhead’s eyes before disappearing again. Was that...disappointment? 

“Nah, it’s okay. Um, I was...uh...going to take a bath tonight anyhow. So...uh...there’s no real point in getting wet right now.”

Kasumi gave another serene smile, satisfied with the answer. Akane, however, was nowhere near convinced.

_ Great, something is going on. Probably some ghost that wants a last date with a cute redhead before passing on. Or some super special technique that can only be taught to girls. Or a cure that he has to charm off of some guy. Does he really have to be doing it now? Can’t it at least wait? After everything that has happened, just let me have a break.  _

Akane continued to sulk throughout dinner as she tried to figure out what exactly it was that her fiancé was up to.

  
  


What said fiancée was in fact currently up to was slowing down her eating to only slightly above human speed while trying to figure out the exchange with Kasumi and why it made her feel this way.

_ I don’t get it. Kasumi’s always doing stuff like that. She’s just trying to be nice. I mean, there’s no way she could have known. Heck, I didn’t even know an hour ago. So why does it bother me? Why does it...hurt? _

_ I should really tell her. After all the nice things she’s done, she deserves to know. And well, with all that we’ve gone through, Akane does too. _

Ranma let out a sigh, quite grateful that everyone else was gone as she felt the girls eating with her were the only ones who would react in some way positively, and she was probably just being hopeful in regards to Akane.

Regardless, she knew for certain that she’ll need to wait a while to give the news to the others. The parents she would rather just avoid all together. Nabiki would immediately find several ways to gain a profit from this, none of which would be good for the redhead’s health. Happosai would just try even harder to get her to model his “silky darlings” for him. Ranma suppressed a shudder at that. She may have finally admitted to being a girl, at least part of the time, but she still wasn’t a fan of frilly stuff. And no way in Hell would she ever wear anything offered by that old freak.

_ Well, they aren’t here now. It’s just Kasumi and Akane, so it’s the perfect time to tell them. Time to tell them. Tell them...tell them what exactly? What do I say? “Oh hey, by the way I’m a girl now, you know, when I’m not a guy”? I can just imagine Akane’s reaction. “Yeah, we can see that dummy!” I mean, I can at least admit now that I like being a girl. Is it as much that I like being a guy though? Is it more? Does that even matter? What’s the difference even? My guy form is taller and stronger; my girl form is smaller and faster. There’s more to it that just that, right? Mom and Pops sure think so, but should I go with that? Pops is an idiot and Mom, well, I still don’t know how to feel there. I do some things different when I’m a girl, but how much of that was acting and how much of that was really me? Guy Ranma and Girl Ranma… _

The redhead’s mind wandered to an old English movie that Ms. Hinako had everyone watch and the book it was based on. The one about the scientist and potion that made him...change. Even though something about the concept caught his attention (as he was a guy at that point), he still found it mostly boring and skimmed over it, at least until he got to the end. The ending, with the journal from the scientist explaining everything, he ended up reading several times. Back then, he knew something about it was important, but wasn’t sure what it was. Now though…

Ranma’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bowl slamming down on the table. She turned her head towards her fiancée, finally noticing the look in the dark-haired girl’s eyes, and was suddenly reminded that they haven’t had a real conversation since the failed wedding. The pigtailed martial artist wanted to say something now, but all she managed to come up with was, “Are you okay, Akane?”

She watched as the girl paused before flashing a big smile and responded back, “Oh, I’m fine Ranma.”

In the past, Ranma would have probably left well enough alone at this point, but after what they went through, after almost losing her, she doubted she’d be able to do that ever again. “Are you sure? I mean, if there’s something bugging you, I could always-”

“I said I’m fine! Don’t worry about it.”

Unsure of what to do otherwise, Ranma ended up falling back into old habits. “Whatever, it’s not like I care or anything you uncute tomboy.” She braced herself, ready for some semblance of a return to their normal interactions. 

Instead, she watched as Akane just stood up without looking back at her. “Thank you for the food Kasumi,” was all that was said before she silently left and went back up to her room.

The remaining two occupants of the house just looked at the doorway Akane left from for several minutes in silence. Finally, Ranma turned to the eldest Tendo sister and asked, “Kasumi, what am I supposed to do?”

Kasumi for her part showed her own frustrations by letting out a small sigh. “I’m not really sure Ranma. I think right now all we can do is wait until she is ready and then offer whatever support we can.”

“I don’t think I can wait anymore though,” the redhead responded. Any thoughts of her own issues were immediately usurped by the desire to help the woman she loves. “There has to be something I can do now!”

“I’m sorry Ranma, but with everything that has happened, I don’t think a fiancé is what Akane needs at this moment.”

Ranma’s mind was racing trying to think of what she could do, and kept arriving at the same conclusion.  _ So I was right then. This is another thing he can’t do that she can. _

“What if I don’t do it as a fiancé? What if I do it as a girl?”

Kasumi could only look over at the Saotome heir in confusion. “What do you mean Ranma?”

The red-haired girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath before sitting up straight and looking back at the other occupant of the room with determination. “Kasumi, there’s something important that I need to tell you.”

The other girl’s look of confusion slowly morphed into realization and surprise.

“Oh my!”

  
  


Akane managed to salvage her assignment from the remains of her desk and was now just staring at the broken pieces when she heard a knock at her door. Turning around, she simply yelled back, “Please go away!”

“Akane!” called out the currently female voice of her fiancé. “I just want to talk to you!”

“Go away! Leave me alone!” Akane yelled even more forcefully. 

A few moments of silence followed before Ranma responded again, much quieter this time. “Please Akane, just give me a few minutes. I want to help you.”

Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere this way, she went over and opened the door, starting down the person on the other side. “And how exactly are you going to do that, Ranma?” She asked with venom dripping from her words.

The redhead looked pensive and started scratching the back of his head at the base of his pigtail. “Um, well, are you doing anything tomorrow?”

Akane raised an eyebrow and continued to glare at her fiancé. “Why?”

Said fiancé paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Well, I mean it’s been a while since either of us has gone out of the house to just do stuff. Heck, when was the last time the two of us just hung out together?”

The short-haired girl spent some time thinking about this, but was having difficulties coming up with an answer. Finally, she replied back, “Um, I guess it was the last time that your mother took “little Ranko” out on a shopping trip.”

Ranma looked lost in thought for a moment before quickly recovering. “Yeah, see? It’s been a while. I’d say we both go out, just the two of us, and have some fun! What do you think?”

Akane was pensive about this. A day out having fun did sound appealing, but…

“I don’t know Ranma. After everything that’s happened recently...I know that my father said no more worrying about the engagement stuff for now, but still. I mean, the other fiancées are out of town, but what if someone from school sees us and starts spreading rumors. I’m not sure I can handle that right now.”

The redhead just gave a big smile at this. “No, you see, I got it all figured out. First, we both get out of Nerima for this. I’m thinking probably Sibuya might be a good place to go. That way, we won’t have to worry about running into anyone we know. Besides, I have the perfect solution to this.” His smile grew even wider as he proudly declared, “I’ll just go as a girl!”

At this, Akane blinked and gave the most coherent response she could give at the moment. “Huh?”

Ranma continued to grin back at her as he seemed to grow more excited with each word. “Yeah, see if I do that then we don’t have to worry about any romance or fiancé junk. It’ll just be two girls hanging out and having fun. Come on, I really think we both could use this. It’s a chance to forget about our problems for a day and just enjoy ourselves. What do you say?”

Akane continued to stare at the female form of the man she loved and tried to make sense of everything that just happened.  _ Going out does sound like a good idea, and I guess if he goes as a girl we can avoid anything awkward. Wait, is this why he stayed a girl earlier? Was this what he was planning the whole time? _

Quietly, the Tendo heir asked, “You’d really do that for me? You’d really stay a girl all day long?”

Something flashed in the redhead’s eyes. Not quite the same thing she saw before at dinner, but similar nonetheless. The look disappeared as he once again smiled at her, this time one of calm and serenity. “Of course Akane. I just want you to be happy.”

Even when he was a girl, that smile was simply too much for her and Akane knew at this point she had no choice but to give in. Flashing back her own calm smile, she responded back, “Okay Ranma, I accept. Having a day out does sound like something we both need right now.”

She was almost blown back by the cheer given by her pigtailed fiancé. “Alright! Thanks Akane, you won’t regret this. I’ll make sure of it. We’ll work out the details tomorrow morning. This will be great, trust me. There’ll be nothing to worry about. It’ll just be two friends having a good time together.” 

With that, Ranma ran off. Akane was so lost in thought about what was just said, she failed to notice he didn’t go back to his own room.

_ Friends, huh? Have I ever even tried to consider Ranma like that. I suppose he’s always just been my fiancé. That part of the forced engagement I never really wanted. I guess if he’s going to be a girl tomorrow, it would make sense we would go as friends. We couldn’t really be anything more than that, right? It’s still him though. Even with a female body, it’s still the man I love. Would I be able to reconcile the difference? _

With a sigh, Akane closed her door and lay down on her bed, thoughts of a pigtailed martial artist dancing through her thoughts. Only this time, it wasn’t of a black haired boy.

_ Maybe it would be easier if he really was a girl. Maybe it would be so much easier if he really was...her. _


End file.
